How to Write a Personal Statement for College
When you know how to write a personal statement for college, applying for college admission will not be a frustrating experience for you. A personal statement is a type of writing that requires you to give the admission board a glimpse in to your personal life- huffingtonpost.com.
Usually, a personal statement is a piece of writing that is made of 47 lines or 4000 characters with which you should convince the college or university that you are applying for that it should consider and offer you a chance to pursue your preferred course. Writing a good personal statement requires you to convey enthusiasm and passion for the topic or subject to the board or admission tutors. You should also demonstrate how suited you are for the course that you are applying for. In some countries, a personal statement is different from an application essay.
A step-by-step guide on how to write a personal statement for college
- Know the requirements
The first thing that you should do before you start writing a personal statement for college is to study the provided materials very carefully. A personal statement is usually evaluated on the basis of how you answer the question that is specified in the requirements. Therefore, if there is a provided question, analyze it carefully to know what exactly you are required to include in your personal statement. Remember that a personal statement should include references to your life. As such, understand the question to determine the best way to include those references.
- Determine what you would like to study in the college
You should decide on the course that you want to pursue in the college that you are applying for. 2/3 of your personal statement should be related to the course that you would like to study in the college. Therefore, it is important that you make a decision on the course that you will pursue in the college that you are applying for before writing your personal statement.
If you cannot make a decision on the course to study on your own, speak to your friends and family members. You can also consult your tutors and teachers. They will tell you whether the course that you are thinking of is suitable for you or not.
- Gather relevant ideas
A personal statement should include a course description, reasons for applying and why you are best-suited for the course. Course description includes the skills, qualities and the experience required for the subject. Gather ideas on course description to help you in writing the statement. The reason for applying includes your interests and ambitions about the course or subject. Relevant experience, skills and achievements that you may have acquired from work, education and other activities are some of the things that can make you an ideal candidate for a course that you apply for in a college- ucas.com.
- Decide on the structure of your personal statement
Each person has a unique style of writing a personal statement. How you write and what you include in your statement will tell readers whether you really know how to write a personal statement for college. Remember that the personal statement that you write will be used to compare you with other applicants. Therefore, try to make it the best piece of writing possible. To decide on the structure of your personal statement, plan it extensively.
To structure your personal statement:
- Plan it around the three-paragraph structure and split the ideas that you gathered into three paragraphs.
- Include everything that is related to the reasons for choosing a particular course or degree and what has enabled you to confirm the choice in the first paragraph. This can include your childhood experience that is related to the subject.
- Include your career plans, prizes and work experience in the second paragraph.
- Include extra-curricular activities in the third paragraph. These include your hobbies, part-time job and interests.
- Draft the personal statement
Use the ideas that you gathered and write them in a concise and clear manner in the categories that you identified in the structure. Highlight if the ideas relate to the course or degree that you choose as well as your personal qualities. Such qualities may include oral communication and team building. Think about the qualities, skills and experiences that you include in the statement carefully. Include relevant qualities only so that they can sell your statement.
- In the introduction, state the course or degree that you are applying for and the reasons for choosing it.
- In the body, expound your reasons by highlighting your qualities, abilities, skills and experiences as well as how they relate to your choice.
- The conclusion should summarize your reasoning or why you chose a course or a degree.
Remember that the introduction and conclusion should remain at the minimum to ensure that your personal statement does not exceed the specified character limit.
- Edit your personal statement
The best way to edit a personal statement for college is to have a professional editor edit it for you. Since you are the one who wrote the personal statement, you may not see some of your mistakes. Therefore, look for an expert who is experienced in editing personal statements. A good expert will identify all mistakes that you may have made to ensure that you have a good personal statement that guarantees you a chance in the college that you are applying for.
More on how to write a personal statement for college
- Be specific on what you are applying for and why
Your personal statement should highlight the specific aspects of the course that you find interesting, examples of the coursework that you may have completed or practical work that you found enjoyable. It should also include articles and books that you read that relate to the course, voluntary work or experience as well as conferences that you might have attended. Also include personal experiences and how they influenced your decision and where you hope to go after pursuing the course.
- Highlight your skills and interests
Your interests include things that you like doing such as leisure activities and sports as well as subjects that you study even if they are not tested or examined. Your skills can be depicted by the languages that you speak, positions that you have achieved and prizes that you have won.
- Avoid plagiarism
Universities and colleges check all personal statements as well as admission essays for plagiarism. They do this using sophisticated software that identifies similarities in the submitted personal statements by various applicants. If plagiarism is detected in your personal statement, your chances of being admitted to your preferred college will be negatively affected. Therefore, avoid plagiarism in your personal statement at all cost- nuigalway.ie.
- Answer the asked question
A personal statement that answers the asked question shows that you know how to write a personal statement for college. Note that, when applying to different colleges, you will find a different question for every call for application. However, the questions might be somewhat similar. Nevertheless, do not use the same personal statement for the applications to different colleges. Make sure that each personal statement answers a question for a specific college that you are applying for. Make sure that each personal statement fits every case depending on the asked question- owl.english.purdue.edu.
- Be specific and lively
Your personal statement should be specific and lively. If you do not have specific evidence to support any reason that you include in the statement, do not include it. For instance, if you do not have a reason for stating that you can be a great doctor if allowed a chance to study in a medical college, do not make that statement. Whether you want to become an engineer, a lawyer or a doctor, provide a logical explanation by citing specific, relevant reasons for your desire or intention. Additionally, make your personal statement lively, different and fresh. This will distinguish you from the other applicants and put you ahead in the competition.
- Use a sample personal statement as your writing guide
Even if you know how to structure your personal statement, you may not know how to make everything read well. Using a sample personal statement is one of the best ways of knowing how to write a personal statement for college. A good personal statement sample will be of great help to you especially if it is your first time to write a personal statement. It will give you an idea of the way your personal statement should look.
Here are links to personal statement samples that you can easily find online:
- Sample personal statement.
- Personal statement for finance course application.
- Personal statement sample.
Visit our home page of our website for more information regarding our professional writing and editing services. Alternatively, continue reading for more guidelines on how to write a personal statement for college and personal statement samples on this blog.
Sources
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/01/personal-statement-tips_n_4191226.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in
https://www.ucas.com/ucas/undergraduate/getting-started/when-apply/writing-personal-statement
http://www.nuigalway.ie/careers/students/faq/statement.html
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/01/